The daily lemming

Posted by Robin on 6 June 2017 2 Comments

Vétiver Extraordinaire shaving cream

I want this even more than the Iris Hand Cream: the new Vétiver Extraordinaire shaving cream from Frédéric Malle. "A razor blade glides through this thick and nourishing shaving cream with the precision of a great skier on the powdery slopes of Val d’Isère. Lightly scented with Vétiver Extraordinaire, it leaves one with the sensation of immaculate freshness. A revolution in its fragrance category, Vétiver Extraordinaire contains an unprecedented dose of 25% Haitian vetiver essence. Together with oak moss, oriental myrrh, pink pepper, bergamot and bitter orange, it leaves your skin feeling remarkably fresh." $80 for 100 ml, so it is not likely there will be any appearing in my shower. There is also an After Shave Balm, at $120 for 50 ml.

My strong point and my weakness

Posted by Robin on 6 June 2017 4 Comments

You always have this back and forth between your perceptions, or what you might call your gut feelings, and then this technical side. Maybe I can say, “Oh, I liked this flower, but you should put more aldehyde and less of that.” This is the way I work, because I am very technical. This is my strong point and my weakness. There are a lot of creative directors out there, but I would say 99 percent of them, they don’t have this technical background. Most of them will say something like, “It’s too sweet.”

— Frédéric Malle, quoted in How Frédéric Malle Makes a New Perfume at The New York Times. Hat tip to Holly!

Parfums DelRae Bois de Paradis ~ fragrance review

Posted by Angela on 5 June 2017 53 Comments

Parfums DelRae Bois de Paradis

Nearly a decade ago, I sampled Parfums DelRae Bois de Paradis at a big city chi-chi perfume boutique. The person helping me sniffed my forearm and shook his head. “No. Not for you.” And that was it. I figured Bois de Paradis and I suffered a chemical mismatch. So, I moved on.

Last week, I stumbled over my Bois de Paradis sample vial and decided to ignore the long-ago opinion and give it another try. I loved it…

Read the rest of this article »